Sailor Tiger's Grotto
by Merrie Khriste Masse
Summary: Abenti Galger believed herself to be just an average nurse at Juuban General Hospital until her dreams about tigers and earth shattering problems convince her otherwise.
1. In Which It Is A Tail Of Two Kitties

Tired from the day's events at the hospital, Abenti practically tore her nurses uniform off as she slumped into bed. As soon as her rear touched the bed, the rest of her body quickly followed suit without even giving her enough time to change into her tiger-striped two piece pajamas. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep. However, a quiet night did not make way for a peaceful dream. Her jet black hair, which was normally put up in the odango hair style, came loose as she tossed and turned well into the night.

Not long after midnight, Abenti curled into a fetal position as an orange aura surrounded her body. Black stripes seemingly crawled across her body as a feline tail sprouted from her tailbone. Unaware and still asleep, Abenti's body morphed into that of a tiger. A secondary consciousness surfaced and took over the now feline body.

The tiger, aware of Abenti's persona and life memories, got up off the bed and went to the fire escape. Looking outside, the tiger grinned at what appeared to be a clear cool night sky, then went down the stairs very swiftly.

Silently the tiger loped throughout the shadows and alley ways of the city until she reached the country side. The tiger paused long enough to check for any unusual smells or sounds before continuing into the open spaces of the country. When she was far enough she slowed down and started sniffing at the grass. She did so until she found what looked like a paw print impressed into a patch of mud.

The tiger placed her front left paw on the impression and let loose a mournful growl. Then she did something she hadn't done in a long time. She said one word in the human language.

"Elysian."

A portal opened up not more than a few feet in front of her. Without a moments hesitation, the tiger leapt into the portal and found herself in what could only be described as a never ending forest dotted with crystal outcroppings. It didn't take long before the tiger met up with Helios.

"You have come to find someone." Helios stated matter of factly.

"You were expecting me?" the tiger exclaimed in surprise as she sat down.

Helios simply nodded at the statement, then led the tiger in silence to the shrine room where two shrine maidens stood waiting with three differently colored balls of energy. The three balls slowly lowered to the ground and elongated into oval spheres.

"It was foretold that the day would arrive when after a long period of peace, three souls would be revived upon the Guardian's wishes. However, along with the revival, the peace would shatter and a new era would arise."

"Shattered? By whom?"

"If only I knew. I can only pray that most of that omen will not come true."

The tiger sighed as she looked at the three spheres of energy.

"If this shall come to pass, I shall speed up the search until the day when the true Guardian emerges and all will be explained."

"If you are certain..." Helios started.

"Yes."

Helios turned to the three spheres and emitted a soft white glow from his hands. The tiger muttered a few words under her breath before turning and leaving Elysian.

"Hello, Ami?" Abenti started as soon as the other end of the phone line was picked up.

"Abenti, nice to hear from you. It's been a while since we actually seen each other because of work." Ami replied.

"And we work at the same hospital too, you being an intern, me being a nurse there..." Abenti said with a smirk. "Any chance that by some odd chance that you have today off too? I really need someone to talk with, and you're the first person to pop into my mind."

"Let me check," Ami said as she flipped through her scheduler. "Yes, it looks like I'm free today. Where shall we meet?"

"Near the Crown Arcade. I hear there's a new bar opening up near by."

"Okay, I'll meet up with you there in half an hour. Bye, Abenti-san."

"Good bye, friend Ami." Abenti set the cordless phone down, checked her hair in a mirror then set out to the Crown Arcade.

"What was that?" a thin white haired figure inquired as he looked at his partner.

"Three sources of very familiar, but definitely altered, life lit up in the Sol system." replied the stockier, darker skinned figure. "Let's see if we can get a location, shall we?"

The one with the white hair pressed a few buttons and the third planet from the sun magnified many times upon the main monitor. Statistics scrolled across the top of the screen.

"Hmm...Oxygenated, some pollutants, massive areas of H2O..." the first figure muttered as he read the statistics.

"Could you put that in layman's terms?" came a confused retort.

"Welcome to Earth, third rock from the sun." the disembodied voice of their master replied as his shadowed form appeared within the room.

The two figures turned and bowed formally to the shadowed representation.

"I see you two have found something of interest in this particular planet. Very well. This shall go smoothly with my plans. You can continue whatever you were doing as long as you are able to prepare this planet for my arrival."

"Yes, Master." the two figures said in unison just before they teleported to a remote region of land on the planet below.

"...It all started months earlier. For the most part, it was the same dream every night, where I was represented by a tiger in my dreams. It was me, but not me at the same time, like if it was someone else." Abenti explained to Ami as they walked from the Crown Arcade in the direction of the new bar. "But the dream last night, I shudder thinking about it. In my dream, I was still represented by a tiger, but this time, I was in this forest that was dotted with some sort of crystal outcroppings or something. And then I met up with this guy dressed in whites and light blues. He seemed to be expecting me. I followed him to an area where two women were waiting with these, oh, how to say it. They weren't energy balls, more like oval..."

Abenti stopped talking as she looked up. With a smile, she nodded towards the building.

"Aha. I thought as much. Grand opening of the Wild Amazon. After you!" Abenti said as she held the door open for Ami.

Ami took a few steps into the bar and gasped in surprise as she stopped suddenly. Abenti nearly crashed right into Ami when she stopped.

"What is it?" Abenti inquired.

"It can't be...but he died. All three of them did." Ami muttered incoherently.

"My friend, you must be cracking under the pressure of school work and the internship. What in the world are you talking about?"

Ami simply pointed at the light-blue haired person behind the counter. Abenti looked at who Ami was pointing at.

"You are most definitely stressed out. That is a she, not a he. And she is definitely cute. Not that I'd go for people of the same gender, mind you, but still..."

"Maybe you're right." Ami sighed and shook her head. "Let's sit down and get something to drink. We came here to talk about your dream, right?"

"Right. Hmm...over there in the corner seems free. Let's go."

Abenti led Ami to the corner booth. They took their time to look at the interier decorating of which the bar was aptly named. Vines hung all over the place from what looked like tree trunks protruding from the walls. Less than a minute after they got situated in the booth, a waiter came to take their order.

"Welcome to Wild Amazon. I will be your host for your stay. Is there anything I can get you?"

"What would you...recommend," Abenti caught herself on the last word as she looked up at the waiter. Abenti's jaw dropped as she blushed. Ami took notice of Abenti's awestruck face.

Ami then glanced and gasped at the waiter. He looked awfully familiar. Everything from his golden brown hair and blue eyes to the striped pants. Except for the fact that there was definitely a different shirt, no jewelry and no whip, there was little difference from the last time she saw him five years ago.

Abenti broke her gaze from the waiter and looked over to her now nervous friend.

"You look like you saw a ghost." Abenti said.

"Maybe a drink will help. I know, the preferred drink we have is called Amazon Dream. I'll be back with it. Compliments of the house." the waiter said. He then winked at Abenti and dashed off to fetch the drinks.

"What happened? What has gotten to you, my friend?" Abenti said as soon as the waiter left.

"That waiter, and the bartender. Both of them I'm pretty sure I saw years ago, and both of them, plus one other I was pretty sure I saw die so long ago."

"Strange. They look very much alive to me. Maybe you should splash some water on your face while we're waiting for our drinks."

"Good idea." Ami smiled faintly as she got up. She carefully walked over to the restroom and disappeared behind the door.

A sudden commotion at the entrance of the establishment caught Abenti's attention. Two men had entered Wild Amazon, but instead of finding a table, the expressions on their faces told that they were looking for trouble with the bartender, the waiter that Abenti talked with and another waiter. Not keeping her eyes off the scene, Abenti attempted to listen to the conversation.

"I'm sorry, you must have the wrong place. Please leave before we contact the authorities." the bartender said in a soft but stern voice.

"Oh, please. Your attempt to pull the wool over our eyes, as the saying goes, didn't work. We know who you are, and we are here to take you with us. Forcefully if necessary." the dark skinned man said.

"Who the hell are you?" the golden brown haired waiter asked in frustration.

"We were waiting for you to ask that." came the reply. A snap of the fingers brought forth a curtain with a snake hanging on a bull's head emblem out of thin air. As soon as the curtain left, the two trouble makers had reverted to their natural forms. The one that did the talking looked almost like a minotaur, with a mostly human body, with definite bull features, including an elongated jaw and nose line, bull horns and a large nose ring. The other one had hardly noticeable peach flesh colored scaly skin, dull gray eyes, extended fangs and a forked tongue, while an actual snake was wrapped around his right arm. Both wore what resembled bronze gauntlets on their wrists.

Meanwhile, the tiger persona inside of Abenti did not wait until Abenti slept this time to take over Abenti's body. Fortunately hidden within the high backs of the booth seats, Abenti's body writhed and shook slightly as it automatically morphed into that of the tiger. The tiger stalked silently until it was only a few booths away from the entrance, waiting until the time was right to pounce.

"Snake Eyes? Bull's Eye? Is that really you?" came the shocked voice of the bartender.

"Present and accounted for," the one called Snake Eyes hissed. "Just as you three are Fish Eye, Tiger's Eye and Hawk's Eye. And we're here to.."

"You'll be here long enough to leave." a voice called. The five standing there turned to the source of the voice, which happened to be the crouched tiger.

The tiger bared her fangs and growled loudly as she walked past a surprised Tiger's Eye and Hawk's Eye.

"I knew I smelled trouble. Or was it appetizers and dinner I smelled?" the tiger said while licking the rim of her mouth.

Bull's Eye snorted and lowered his head.

"No overgrown cat is going to scare me that easily."

"Bull's Eye, no! You can't have forgotten what going up a tiger is like, have you?" Snake Eyes warned.

"I was weaker and less experienced then! I can take this tiger on. No problem."

"What about two tigers and a hawk?" Fish Eye called out.

That got a grin from the tiger and a startled look from the other four men.

"What are you saying?" Hawk's Eye inquired.

"Don't you remember? We had animal forms long before we had human forms. I'd be useless if I changed, but you two plus this tiger here can change the odds."

Tiger's Eye sweatdropped and concentrated. A few moments went by, but he still retained his human shape.

"No such luck. Maybe we're completely human now."

"Not entirely, but I'll explain later." said the tiger before extending her front claws and with a low growl charged at Bull's Eye. The tiger leapt over Bull's Eye's horns and attached herself to his back. Her hind claws dug into his shoulders and her front claws dug into his waist. Which meant, "Rump roast! Very rare!"

Two seconds later, the tiger was laying on her backside and Bull's Eye bellowing in agony. Snake Eyes sighed in expectation as Hawk's Eye, Tiger's Eye and Fish Eye laughed so hard, they practically were in stitches.

Bull's Eye temporarily recovered long enough to pull a knife out of thin air and throw it at the tiger. The tiger attempted to get out of the way, but the knife grazed her left shoulder. The trio stopped laughing as the tiger roared in anger and pain.

"Mark my words," Bull's Eye stated. "We will do what it takes to get what we want!"

With that, Bull's Eye and Snake Eyes vanished with a teleportation spell. The trio then gathered around the wounded tiger.

"You're not a normal tiger, just as we aren't normal, but you're not exactly like us. Who are you?" Hawk's Eye asked as Fish Eye attempted to clean the wound.

"I am..." the tiger grimaced at the pain. "...the reason why you were revived, and most likely the same reason why trouble will once again befall this planet. I am half of the persona of a greater whole, but who or what that whole is, I cannot tell at the time. Until I become one with my other self, my memories are mostly blanketed."

At this time, Ami was rushing out of the restroom and over to where the Trio stood.

"What happened? I heard howls of pain? Did someone get..." Ami stopped in mid-sentence as she saw the tiger. She gasped, "Oh my god, what happened to that tiger?"

"This tiger tried to protect us from some unwelcome company, but got wounded." Hawk's Eye replied.

"Why in the world is a tiger here in Japan?"

Tiger's Eye was about to respond when the tiger did so.

"Ami, you and the trio here are going to have to help me."

Ami's eyes bulged slightly, not only at the fact that the tiger talked but that the tiger knew her name.

"But how..." were the only words that was able to escape Ami's mouth.

"We're all not what we appear to be. You know my other form and persona, Abenti Galger. She was not aware of me, except in the fact that she thought that I was part of her imagination. Yet I'm always aware of what she says and does. However, I've always, until now, only took control when she was asleep. You four should not tell anyone of what you know of me, except with Abenti, for she should learn the truth as I have to try to merge her persona and soul with me, so that the True Guardian will appear. I'll understand if you want to back out of it, Ami. For this is bound to be a bit of a shock. But Abenti's going to need you now more than ever. Especially with this wound." the tiger cringed again. The tiger then looked from face to face, starting and ending with Ami. "Will you help me?"

Each one of the four people nodded their heads. The tiger grinned and with an uneasy movement, produced a yellow broach that had a paw print embossed upon it.

"Give this to Abenti and explain what happened. Hopefully she'll have no problems using it when the time comes."

With that, the tiger reverted to the human form of Abenti. Abenti blinked a few times and shook her head.

"Did anyone catch the license plate of that freight train?" she half joked as she reached cautiously to her left shoulder with her right hand.

"Hang on, Abenti. We're going to have to take you to the hospital to check your shoulder." Ami said as she picked up the broach. "After wards, I'll explain everything over a drink."

"Yeah, you have still yet to try the Amazon Dream. As soon as you get patched up, come back and you can have as many drinks on the house as you'd like." Tiger's Eye added with a warm smile.

Abenti smiled back then promptly fainted. 


	2. In Which Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction

"Damn!" Bull's Eye yelled as Snake Eyes attempted to care for the bite wounds on Bull's Eye's butt. "We were so close! What went wrong?"

Snake Eyes opened his mouth to reply, but decided against it while shaking his head. After a few moments he spoke up. "You've got to learn to control your hard headedness and your anger. Now that we know that they're here at this planet, we can take a step back and think how we are going to get them. We also have to consider that other tiger there. If there's that one talking tiger, who knows what other defenses this planet has?"

Bull's Eye only grumbled some more obscenities at that, which only caused Snake Eyes to again shake his head full of white hair in exasperation. A thought then crossed Snake Eyes' mind as he summoned a yajuu and whispered instructions to it. In an instant, the yajuu nodded, bowed and left as quickly as it came.

"What in the hell was that all about?" Bull's Eye inquired to his partner.

"I was just thinking. We have two forms, both human and animal. Including the Trio."

"Duh. I know that." Bull's Eye retorted.

"Be quiet you dolt. That tiger seemed to know of the Trio having two forms. What if that tiger has a human form? If so, then that tiger, in human form, might be at some hospital, getting treatment for the wound inflicted by your knife. I just sent a yajuu to do some work for us, is all."

"So, what's the prognosis doctor?" Ami inquired as she stood up in the waiting room.

"Abenti's going to be fine, but she will need some rest at home and to not use her arm for the next few days." the doctor replied.

"When do you think she'll wake up?"

"Actually, she's awake now, but earlier she was muttering in her sleep. Something about tigers, reviving people and shattering the peace. Any clue as to what she was muttering about? I wouldn't want one of my best nurses to be going crazy now, would I?"

Ami's face drained of all color as she heard that. She shook the feeling off and smiled slightly. "Just some wild dreams. I'm sure that with time off and someone to talk with, Abenti will be good as new in no time flat. Is she allowed visitors right now?"

"Yes. In fact, as soon as she feels ready, she can be released to go home."

"Thank you." Ami said with a faint grin of relief then headed to the room Abenti was resting in.

As Ami peered into the room, she saw that Abenti was looking out the window towards the now gray cloud covered sky. Ami stepped into the room and cleared her throat in attempt to catch her friend's attention. Abenti didn't turn her head from the window.

"Who...no, what am I?" Abenti asked herself just barely over a whisper. "Something in my mind says that I'm not entirely human, but that's impossible. The dreams I had of myself becoming a tiger were all a dream. Weren't they?"

With concern sprawled on her face, Ami who for the most part stayed silent as her friend attempted to logically think things out, practically jumped out of her skin as a hand landed on her shoulder. Ami turned and sighed with relief as she saw that the hand belonged to Mamoru.

"Mamoru-san. You scared me."

"Sorry..." Mamoru replied before looking over at Abenti. "There's something different about her."

"Yes. It's very confusing to say the least. Mamoru-san, she's one of us!" Ami said in a hushed whisper as it just dawned on her what the tiger said. She then pulled out the circular brooch with the paw print on it. "Only different at the same time. I'm suppose to give this to her, but it might be a bit difficult for her to understand. Could you help me explain it to her?"

"Sure." Mamoru said with a nod.

They both walked over to the other end and stopped a few feet away from the window. Ami then took a few steps closer and once again attempted to get Abenti's attention.

"Abenti, we need to talk." Ami said as she looked into the confused brown eyes of her friend. Ami then gently grasped Abenti's right wrist and put the brooch into her hand. "You are more than all you appear to be, my friend. And I believe those dreams weren't entirely dreams either. That tiger you mentioned... It's not just a figment of your imagination, it's a part of you..."

"No." Abenti interrupted as she shook her head in denial. "That can't be. That tiger is only in my dreams."

"Abenti, listen to me!" Ami said in an unusually strong tone. "That tiger is real, just as you and I are real. That tiger told me to give you that brooch. You see... You are different than most others. You are a senshi."

"Senshi?! No, that can't be right. I'm a nurse...my job is to heal others. I'm not a fighter..." Abenti's voice trailed off as Mamoru cleared his throat.

Ami nodded and backed up, giving Mamoru enough space to stand in front of Abenti. With a look that could not be mistaken for anything but seriousness, Mamoru took a deep breath and knelt down so that his eyes were level with Abenti's.

"Abenti, I know this seems something that came out of a fantasy novel, but what Ami is telling you is the truth. Now, please listen and don't interrupt. We..."

Unfortunately it was something out side of the room that interrupted Mamoru's explanation. A surgeon had crashed past a few nurses and an orderly and was pinning a visitor against the wall.

"What the hell?" Abenti wondered to herself as she followed Ami and Mamoru towards the doorway.

"You have feline fur on you, you must be the one my masters told me to find!" screeched the so-called surgeon right before he reverted into his yajuu state. The yajuu's left hand held up the trembling victim as his right arm, which ended in an overly large scalpel inched nearer to the victim's throat. Every inch of the yajuu was stainless steal gray in color.

Panic spread through the hall way as the nurses, doctors and orderlies rushed to get all patients away from the scene. Mamoru stuck his head out of the doorway and saw that the hallway was now nearly empty, though he could tell that in a very short time, security would try to take control of the yajuu.

"Ami, Abenti... transform now!" Mamoru exclaimed as his doctor's uniform swiftly changed into that of Tuxedo Kamen.

Ami nodded and holding up her henshin wand, she shouted, "Mercury Crystal Power, MAKE UP!"

It took all of a split second for the transformation to be complete and Super Sailor Mercury stood in a defensive mode while accessing her Mercury Computer. Abenti stared blankly for a few moments. She still didn't completely grasp the concept that the tiger was real, let alone being a senshi. Abenti took a few steps forward and gasped as she saw the yajuu in full view. She then inhaled deeply and scrunched her nose at the smell.

"Do you smell that?" Abenti said to no one in particular.

"What's going on, Abenti? Smell what?" Super Sailor Mercury inquired.

"I don't smell a thing other than the usual sanitary hospital smells." Tuxedo Kamen said.

"That smell. From that...whatever that thing is. It has the smell of..." Abenti inhaled again. "...snake oils."

A small yelp from the victim brought Abenti to her senses. Rage built up inside the normally docile nurse as the yajuu toyed with the victim.

"Oooh. I won't let you get away with that you broken piece of garbage. A hospital is meant for healing the wounded and the ill, not to terrify people senseless! Panthera Tigris Power, MAKE UP!" Abenti called out. An instant later, Sailor Tiger leapt out of the room and charged towards the yajuu.

"What's this? Someone's trying to stop me from my fun?" the yajuu asked as he turned to see Sailor Tiger followed by Super Sailor Mercury and Tuxedo Kamen getting closer. "If you want to live, I suggest you leave."

"You call that a threat? I'll give you something to quiver about! Known for stealth and ambush tactics, I am the ferocious sailor suited soldier of the genus panthera tigris, Sailor Tiger. For what you are doing, prepare to die!" Sailor Tiger exclaimed.

"Agent of Wisdom, I am the pretty sailor suited soldier, Super Sailor Mercury! You have brought shame to the title of surgeon and of the good name of this hospital. So splash yourself with cold water and repent!"

The yajuu looked at the senshi, then back to his victim.

"So, you're not who I was after anyway..." the yajuu muttered as he dropped the senseless victim to the floor and pointed his scalpel of an arm at the senshi. "I shall cut you down to size and take you back to my masters. They reward well for something like this."

The yajuu then charged at the feline senshi. Unfortunately for the yajuu, Sailor Tiger used the yajuu as a spring board and leapt over him with ease. Practically forgotten, Tuxedo Kamen lifted up the unconscious victim and left for the victims safety.

"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"

"Tiger Teeth Crunch!"

The simultaneous attacks reached the yajuu from the front and back within moments of each other. As soon as the attacks dissipated, the yajuu was found in a crouching position with scrapes, scratches and a spot or two of rust. The two senshi stared in disbelief that the yajuu was still alive. The yajuu however, was dismayed.

"No! I had a lifetime warranty! My masters won't be too happy about this..."

Sailor Tiger hefted up the yajuu as if he was a rag doll and slammed him into the wall. She then carefully raised the yajuu's own scalpel to his neck. "Tell your masters to do their own dirty work. If they send any more of you out here, I'll..."

"Sailor Tiger, calm yourself! I think this yajuu gets the point. We have to get out of here. Now!"

Sailor Tiger sighed and let go of the yajuu as she knew Super Sailor Mercury was right.

"You are one lucky hunk of junk. Now go before I change my mind!" Sailor Tiger roared at the yajuu just before it disappeared into a portal.

The wounded yajuu shook from a combination of fear and pain as it entered the main control room where Bull's Eye and Snake Eyes were waiting.

"You failed." Snake Eyes said with no emotion in his voice.

"Yes master..." the yajuu said as he knelt before the duo.

"I sent you on a simple search and identify mission and you failed by going berserker. You harassed the first person you saw and were nearly destroyed. Explain yourself!"

Bull's Eye sneered at the yajuu while making a knife the size of a rapier appear out of thin air.

"I wanted to bring back the tiger creature... I thought that's what you wanted. I was surrounded by two female warriors who were accompanied by a silent male wearing a tuxedo."

"Did they say who they were?" Bull's Eye inquired.

"One of the females said she was Super Sailor Mercury. The other one...called herself Sailor Tiger. The latter one told me to tell you to..." The yajuu paused to gulp down some air. "...do your own dirty work."

Before Snake Eyes could restrain him, Bull's Eye tossed the large knife with such fierceness that it embedded itself straight through the yajuu's upper torso. The yajuu let out a whimper as he crumpled into a heap and quickly decomposed until there was nothing left but an exoskeleton, which moments later turned to dust and vanished.

"I'm disappointed. I thought they made better yajuus now than they did in the past." Bull's Eye commented while picking up the knife that was just used. He turned and looked at Snake Eyes who was shaking his head. "What?"

"We could have used him again, you know. But that's not our main concern now. We have at least two senshi in our way of preparing this planet for Master Sesmar. Most likely there are more. And if you keep killing the yajuu after every failed attempt, we'd have to take Sailor Tiger's advice and do it ourselves...and you know what that means..."

Bull's Eye nodded once as it finally dawned on him what was going on. "Damned if we do, damned if we don't, and stuck with no way out." 


	3. In Which There Is A Lot Of Bull

"I wonder how she is..." Tiger's Eye mused as he sat at the bar, nursing a drink.

"You'll never find out if you don't go to the hospital." Fish Eye suggested.

"But what about the bar?" Tiger's Eye sat up and glanced at his companion in surprise.

"I believe we can manage until you get back." Hawk's Eye smiled as he winked at Tiger's Eye. "Besides, what good are you to us if you're just going to sit there all day and mope around about your girlfriend that got hurt?"

"She's not my girlfriend..." Tiger's Eye responded.

"Not yet anyway..." Fish Eye added with a knowing smirk. "Now go before we have to close the place down and drag you there ourselves!"

Tiger's Eye nodded as he put his drink down on the countertop and left Wild Amazon in search for the young woman that had quickly captured his heart.

"This is just too wild, too different for me to accept. Why me? Why is it that I'm apparently having multiple personality disorder... especially when the other personality is that of a talking tiger?" Abenti wondered out loud, not particularly noticing anyone else that was there at Hikawa Shrine that overheard her.

"Abenti, there's nothing wrong with you mentally." Ami said exasperated to her friend. "Mamoru and I brought you here so you could find out that you are not alone. Each of us here can also transform into a senshi. And you saw what happened at the hospital. You transformed too. This is no illusion or mind game."

Abenti looked at the assembled group of five young women and one man before speaking up.

"But..."

"Ami, let us talk to her." Luna said as she and Artemis walked past her and situated themselves so that they couldn't be avoided by Abenti.

"She has a strong feline aura around her. It seem so familiar somehow." Artemis whispered to Luna before they both stared into Abenti's eyes.

"Abenti, we realize this is a difficult thing for you to go through..." Luna started.

Abenti stared in mild surprise at Luna and Artemis, before slumping slightly forward and letting out a breath of air that held too long within her as it just began to sink in that, quite possibly, everything that happened recently could very well be true.

"No amount of denial is going to change that fact, huh?" Abenti finally spoke. "First those strange dreams that turn out not to be dreams at all...and now I'm also a senshi. And I'm finding out that my closest friend is part of a group of senshi as well."

"But, Abenti, you don't have to go through this alone. We want to help you cope with this. It was never easy at first for each of the senshi finding out that they had a special power to help protect this world." Artemis interjected.

"Artemis is right." Rei added. "If anything, we know how it felt to find out that we are senshi to protect the people and every creature and this world from evil. Your strengths, powers and element maybe different from the rest of us, but the goal is just the same."

"If it's all the same to you all, I think I need to spend time alone. All of this is happening so quickly, that my head feels like it's spinning on its own axis."

With that, Abenti walked briskly away from Hikawa Shrine with Luna and Artemis following her from a distance.

"I have to do something...but what?" Bull's Eye said as he paced back and forth in the control room that he and Snake Eyes had set up.

Snake Eyes sighed before he looked up from his calculations.

"Why don't you take a few yajuu with you to get a better sense of this location? No sense in both of us being cooped up here."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Bull's Eye perked up a bit. Snapping his fingers, Bull's Eye summoned four yajuu and had them follow him through a teleportation portal.

"This time, don't kill the yajuu off..." Snake Eyes said a split second too late, right before sighing again and getting back to work.

As Abenti was about to go around the corner, she heard two distinctly male voices arguing amongst each other. She jumped back and leaned back against the side of the building while peaking around the corner to the point where she could get a glimpse of what was going on.

"Perhaps I was being a bit rash earlier. Let's start over, shall we? Join our cause or be tortured slowly into madness."

Abenti wasn't sure who the dark skinned man was, but a gut feeling made the hair at the nape of her neck bristle. The other man however, Abenti immediately recognized as the waiter from Wild Amazon.

"There's no way I would join you, Bull's Eye. I'm human now and I prefer to keep my second chance on life in good standing." the second man said.

"As you wish..." Bull's Eye stated coolly. With a snap of his fingers, the four yajuu appeared and surrounded both of them, but getting closer to surround their target. "Since you won't willingly join us, I'll take you by force."

"No..." Abenti whispered under her breath as she grabbed her golden yellow brooch. "Panthera Tigris Power, MAKE UP!"

After the brief transformation, Sailor Tiger let out a roar as she ran around the corner and leapt up and landed between the waiter and Bull's Eye.

"Well, well, well. Who do we have here, Tiger's Eye? Your own personal bodyguard?" Bull's Eye smirked as he raised an eyebrow.

"And what if I am?" Sailor Tiger said in a barely contained growl.

"Then things have just got more interesting." came the chuckled reply.

"So, you're trying to raise the 'steaks', Cowpie?" Sailor Tiger retorted.

Bull's Eye snorted and glared at the pun-wielding feline senshi.

"Known for stealth and ambush tactics, I am the ferocious sailor suited soldier of the genus panthera tigris, Sailor Tiger. On behalf of all types of tigers everywhere, I shall crush you!"

"Sailor Tiger, hmm? You're one of the two that my previous yajuu mentioned. However since you're lacking in your partner and I have you out numbered, I shall deal with you now."

With a snort and a snap, Bull's Eye had the four yajuu that accompanied him attack.

"When I say so, run." Sailor Tiger hissed at Tiger's Eye. She ducked down out of the way just as two yajuu leapt at her and collided. "Run!"

Tiger's Eye did not have to be told twice as he got out of the feline senshi's way. He made it to around the very same corner that Abenti had hid behind moments earlier, just as Luna and Artemis appeared.

"Must find Sailor Moon." Tiger's Eye gasped, barely registering that the two cat guardians were there. "Sailor Tiger's outnumbered."

"Tiger Teeth Crunch!" Sailor Tiger called out aiming at one of the yajuu.

Artemis ran back in the direction that he and Luna came from to summon the sailor senshi. Luna looked up at Tiger's Eye then at the battle scene. Sailor Tiger had severely injured one of the yajuu and was about to attack one of the three others when Luna saw Bull's Eye conjure a curved rapier with intents of throwing it at Sailor Tiger.

"Look out!" Tiger's Eye and Luna chorused at once when they both saw what Bull's Eye had in mind. They both charged at Bull's Eye with such ferocity, that Bull's Eye was knocked over and was on the receiving end of multiple flesh wounds before he summoned enough strength to knock both of them off.

"You'll pay for that!" Bull's Eye bellowed. His eyes turned bloodshot red as he turned his attention to Tiger's Eye. "You should have kept running."

Bull's Eye snorted as he picked up the dropped rapier and charged at Tiger's Eye.

"Oh no you don't!" Sailor Tiger exclaimed as she launched herself into a flying round house kick, knocking the rapier out of the minotaur's grasp. Tiger's Eye looked up from his position on the ground and took notice of the senshi standing her ground. He then picked up Luna and rushed out of the way from the battleground. Sailor Tiger swiftly landed and turned to face Bull's Eye. "Don't tell me you're one of the masters that your former yajuu blathered about. From this pathetic display you've put on, I can't see why anything would want to take orders from you. I'm going to tell you what I told your previous hired help. Do your own dirty work or bugger off."

Two of the yajuu that Bull's Eye had brought with him were in critical condition, the other two had numerous injuries and kept their distance from the feline senshi. Bull's Eye snorted, then with a snap of his fingers, he and the four yajuu departed.

"It appears we're too late." Sailor Mercury said as she and the four other sailor senshi appeared at the scene. "Sailor Tiger, are you all right?"

"Could be better, could be worse." the feline senshi replied with a far off look on her face. "I still need time to myself."

"It was because of me that she had to fight." Tiger's Eye said as he joined the group.

Sailors Mars, Jupiter, Venus and Moon gasped as they saw him. The last time they did see him, he was on the brink of death with his two comrades when Helios transported them to Elysian.

"Tiger's Eye?" Sailor Mars asked incredulously.

"Yes, but now that I've had this second chance on life, I go by the name of Toraboushi Hitonare. As to how I got this second chance, I'm not so sure... I think it had to do with the tiger that appeared at the bar that Fish Eye, Hawk's Eye and I own called Wild Amazon. I went in search for the girl that had emerged from the tiger when Bull's Eye and his yajuu showed up."

At this, Sailor Tiger reverted to being Abenti.

"But why would you be looking for me? I have a lot to go through at the moment, and since we don't know each other..." Abenti started out.

"It doesn't matter that we don't know each other. That too can be worked on, but I want to help you through it. The sailor senshi helped me and my two friends learn from our mistakes, and I'm sure that they can help you too. Maybe we can talk about it at your place? It seems that this place won't be so vacant for long."

From a distance police sirens could be heard getting closer to their position. Sailor Mercury gave a faint smile to Abenti. "We'll be here for you whenever you want to talk, Abenti."

Abenti nodded as she turned to leave, with Tiger's Eye, who was now called Toraboushi, Luna and Artemis following close behind her. The remaining senshi left the scene to go back to Hikawa Shrine.

"What should we do about Abenti?" Makoto asked.

"I wish I knew. Other than let her be by herself for a while, then try and approach her later, that is." Ami responded. "Not everybody could be expected to take that kind of news the same way. Not only is she dealing with being a senshi, she also has this alternate tiger persona that can take over her body and morph her into an actual tiger."

"Plus there's the Amazon Trio that's been revived." Rei said as she idly swept the walkway leading to the Hikawa Shrine. "There's a big difference in their aura... Or at least there is in Tiger's Eye since we last saw him."

"What concerns me more is Bull's Eye, the yajuu and whomever else we might be up against. We were fortunate to have a few short years of peace, but now..." Mamoru trailed off.

"We're not even sure what they're doing here. There's bound to be an ultimate goal that this new enemy has." Ami added.

"Bull's Eye, why is it that five of my minions are either incapacitated or in critical condition with in such a short period of time?" Sesmar's shapeless shadowed form thundered as he glared at the minotaur.

"I apologize, Lord Sesmar. I had to put one out of its misery and the other four were mangled by a senshi that protects this planet." Bull's Eye said as he bowed respectfully to Sesmar.

"I will accept no excuses, Bull's Eye. If any more of my minions get demolished, it will be your hide that I'll be tanning. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Lord Sesmar." Bull's Eye cringed.

"Now, if you're quite done decimating the legions I have left, I suggest you gather as much information as you can about this senshi that you've encountered... Find out if there's others that would oppose the cause. This planet shall be mine as it was meant to be. Soon enough, we will have to proceed to the next phase and start searching for and obtaining these human's Shabti. The mortal's Shabti are mere trinkets, and would only provide a breif power supply. But those who house Ethereal Shabti, they carry within them the key to immortality! Make sure that that is your main goal and that you don't side track from it. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Lord Sesmar." both Bull's Eye and Snake Eyes said in chorus before leaving Sesmar's throne room. 


	4. In Which There Is A Slippery Snake

Upon reaching the apartment complex, Abenti led Toraboushi, Luna and Artemis up to the ninth story where her home was located behind the door marked 917. Luna and Artemis leapt up onto the couch and got comfortable. Toraboushi however, let out a slow whistle as he looked at the various tiger paraphernalia within the confines of the living room.

"This is quite a collection you have, Abenti." he said admiringly.

"Yeah..." Abenti said absent-mindedly as she sat on a black overstuffed leather recliner that faced opposite of the couch. Her thoughts were turned to all that had happened within the past eight hours. After a few moments of silence, she turned her questions to the two felines. "Was it hard for them? To accept their fates when they found out they were sailor senshi, I mean."

"In the beginning, yes it was. Especially with Sailor Moon. She kept insisting that it was all a dream and she was a klutzy crybaby as well. But with time, she matured considerably." Luna stated as she remembered how Usagi took in the whole ordeal.

"Actually she was still a klutz when she went up against some of the Lemures that we dished out." Toraboushi added. With a glare from Luna, he amended his statement. "But I'm sure her klutziness wasn't nearly as bad. I wasn't there in the beginning to compare and contrast."

"No, he's right. Usagi was still a bit of a klutz then." Artemis interjected.

"You're right..." Luna conceded. "Usagi was a major klutz when I first met her, but still..."

The whole ordeal seemed to have gone in one ear and out the other for Abenti as she was lost in thought. Her whole world had taken an one hundred eighty turn from normal to bazaar in a matter of hours. There were two talking cats and a former villain turned recently resurrected good guy in her apartment, yet the only thing on her mind was the tiger persona who shared her body. If one was to look at her at that moment, they'd say she was simply 'out of it.' However, at that moment in Abenti's mind's eye, she was having a conversation with a transparent version of the tiger sitting on the floor beside her.

"Why didn't you make yourself known to me sooner?" Abenti asked nervously.

"I wasn't sure that making contact was the best of ideas, especially since I didn't fully have any conceivable ideas of what to say." the tiger said with mild embarrassment.

"Letting me know that you weren't just a figment of my imagination would have been a nice start."

"I apologize. I'm here now. I wish I could clear things up for both of us, but my memories are foggy."

"Is there anything that you could tell me?" Abenti inquired.

"Such as?" the tiger asked.

"Your name... How long have you been 'aware' in the sense that you were able to know what I know but not the other way around? Any ideas as to why we share this body? What is it that you're trying to do?" Abenti ticked off the questions in rapid succession.

"My name's a mystery to me, but I guess you can simply call me Tiger. I think I've been 'aware' that we, you and I since we share this body, weren't normal since shortly before I became you a number of years ago. Why? How? I'm as clueless as you are unfortunately. My purpose, my very mission in life is to reveal the True Guardian, whomever that may be."

"True Guardian?" Abenti muttered out loud.

At that point all arguments ceased between Luna, Artemis and Toraboushi as they looked at Abenti.

"True Guardian?" Artemis repeated.

"Who's that?" Luna asked. "Abenti, do you know anything about what's going on?"

Abenti shook her head, not just to shake herself out of the fog her mind seemed to be in but also in response to Luna. "No. Neither Tiger and I know much of anything. There's suppose to be a 'True Guardian' that Tiger's looking for. But she's in the dark about who it is or why she's looking for it."

"So in a sense, we're still on square one." Toraboushi stated simply.

"Not quite. We know there's a new enemy, who are your former friends." Artemis said. "And it seems that they want more than just having you re-join them."

"I also wonder if they're working on their own or if they have someone to answer to." Toraboushi wondered idly.

"My wager is that they're working for someone." Abenti commented.

A few moments of awkward silence had Toraboushi shifting from one foot to the other before changing the subject.

"How's your shoulder?"

"Sore, but on the mend. It's weird. I hardly noticed it when I transformed, yet it throbs quite noticeably when I'm just me." Abenti stated as she gingerly touched her tender shoulder.

A few weeks passed and Abenti's shoulder completely healed. Neither the senshi or the former Amazon Trio had seen nor heard from Bull's Eye or Snake Eyes. That however did not mean that the duo had given up nor was it silent during the weeks that passed. Many unexplainable cases of people with what appeared to be rapid progressions of amnesia leading to a vegetative state came pouring into the hospital. It had reached the point where the administrative staff turned new patients away because the hospital was filled to maximum capacity.

"What kind of epidemic is this?" Abenti wondered out loud to nobody in particular.

"It's not natural." Rei responded. "I keep getting the feeling that whomever is behind this has an ulterior motive."

A chilled wind blew through the small gap in the doorway of the room at the Hikawa Shrine where the six girls met up at. Being closest to the door, Abenti rushed to close it tight.

"What gets me is that we're still in the dark about why it's happening." Makoto mentioned.

"And how." Abenti added.

As if to sound an alarm from their outside perch, Phobos and Deimos cawed loudly and repetitively before launching themselves at the cause of the disturbance.

"Trouble!" Rei said as she leaped up and nearly knocked over the low table that they were sitting at.

"Meet me there." Abenti called over her shoulder as she flung open the sliding door and dashed out. A few strides later, Abenti allowed the other resident of her shared body to take over and morph into the tiger form.

At the top of the stairway leading to Hikawa Shrine, a yajuu was bent over an unconscious man while extracting an oblong item. A few yards away, Snake Eyes stood watching the same process he oversaw countless times before. Removing Shabti from a person was a painless process, but Snake Eyes usually hypnotized the victim more often than not so that they wouldn't struggle. He never quite understood why Sesmar required Shabti or why he believed that Shabti, Ethereal or otherwise normal, were key components to immortality. Not that it particularly mattered what Snake Eyes thought.

"Normal." the yajuu grunted as it walked towards Snake Eyes with the Shabti in its clutches.

Snake Eyes shrugged indifferently. A pair of feline eyes watched from the underbrush. Before he was able to conjure up a portal however, a rustling in the bushes caught both of their attentions. Tiger sauntered out of her hiding place with a grimace on her face.

"What do you think you're doing?" She hissed as she coiled up for a possible pounce.

"Nothing that concerns you, feline." Snake Eyes said coolly. "Don't you have something better to do, like chase a mouse?"

"You're my prey today, viper. Like it or lump it." Tiger replied.

"Fine." Snake Eyes said with a shrug as he took the Shabti from the yajuu. "Attack me and this Shabti will break, causing that human to remain in his vegetative state permanently."

Tiger glanced at the item in his hands. She doubted that it would break but didn't quite want to take the chance, so she began to pace around him to keep him on edge. A golden heart linked chain lashed out and yanked the Shabti from Snake Eyes' grasp. Snake Eyes hissed in mild shock as he looked at his now empty hand and turned towards the owner of the chain. He knew that Earth's guardians would show up at one point or another, but he didn't expect it to be at this time.

"Taking things that aren't yours to begin with! How dare you?" Super Sailor Venus chided.

"I dare because I follow orders of Master Sesmar. Feh, I know when I'm out numbered." Snake Eyes said as he glanced at the sailor senshi. Before he could move to make an escape portal, he was pounced by the tiger.

"I ought to kill you right now!" Tiger roared in his face.

'No!' Tiger heard Abenti reverberate in her mind. 'Let him live.'

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't!" Tiger snarled.

"Information. I'm not above giving information to someone's who persuasive enough." Snake Eyes choked.

"Which could mean that you'd be willing to sell us out to your Master Sesmar." Tiger replied.

"And what would I tell him that he doesn't already know? That a pretty girl had stolen a Shabti by yanking it away with a metal chain? That I talked with a tiger? Grow a clue, why don't you. I know stuff that you can't even phantom." Snake Eyes said with a cool smirk upon his face.

"Chances are that you're just lying to spare your life."

"That may be, but do you dare risk the fate of millions of lives to satisfy your bloodlust?" Snake Eyes responded.

"Start talking, snake." Tiger growled as she glared at Snake Eyes and his slippery grasp on logic.

"No. Not here, not now, and definitely not when I'm outnumbered six to two. Neocity, distract them if you will." Snake Eyes called out.

"Right!" the yajuu called Neocity replied before making many duplicates of itself.

A number of the duplications slammed into the large feline's side. Having been knocked over, Tiger roared as she sideswiped the closest monster. In the midst of the confusion between the Neocity clones, Tiger and the sailor soldiers, Snake Eyes managed to escape through the portal he barely managed to open.

"But..." Eternal Sailor Moon protested before sighing.

Tiger roared once more as she managed to free herself from the clones piled up on her, bound onto the closest clone and began to maul it to shreds.

"Let's do it!" Venus exclaimed as she carefully put the Shabti down a safe distance away from the ensuing battle.

"Right!" the other senshi replied.

"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"

"Mars Flame Sniper!"

"Jupiter Oak Revolution!"

"Venus Love And Beauty Shock!"

"Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!"

The combined attacks probed to be to much for Neocity and its clones. As each attack made contact, Neocity and its clones screeched in agony up until Eternal Sailor Moon's attack, which caused the enemy to cry out "Beautiful!" before disintegrating into nothingness.

Cautiously picking up the Shabti from where she placed it, Super Sailor Venus took it to the unconscious victim and upon placing above his barely rising and falling chest, the senshi were overjoyed that it merged into his body. A few minutes later, the man regained consciousness and found himself surrounded by six young women with concern on their faces.

"Are you alright?" Abenti asked him as she and Ami helped him to stand.

"I... I think so. I don't remember blacking out though."

"What do you remember last?"

"Crows cawing while flitting about the trees and..." the man shook his head as he attempted to clear his head some more. "...a definite hiss." 


End file.
